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“You don’t think it’s too much?” Ava bits her lip nervously. “Like mutton dressed as lamb, isn’t that what the British say?”
I have no idea what the British say, but I know what she means. She thinks she’s made a poor choice with the dress, that it’s too young for her. It’s strange to have seen brief glimpses of insecurity from both Livvy and Ava tonight. On their own territory, they seem so confident.
“No, you look beautiful.” I nod to a waiter who comes to offer me champagne, and he sets a glass down on the table in front of me. “So, which of these men is Boris Reznov?”
Ava points toward a large group of people at the far side of the room. “He’s the handsome one in the black tuxedo.”
“Mamma, that describes fifty percent of the men here,” Livvy scolds. She leans closer to me. “Reznov is the one standing six inches taller than the guy with the beer gut and painfully obvious wig.”
Ava tuts at her daughter’s description, but it allows me to pinpoint Reznov. About sixty years old, he’s tall and broad-shouldered, with silver hair and a neatly trimmed beard. I rarely like men with facial hair, but it suits him. He glances in our direction and smiles when he catches me staring. Then he says something to his companion and heads toward our table.
“Ava!” He throws his arms out wide. She stands, and he pulls her into an embrace before kissing her on both cheeks. “Always the most beautiful woman in the room.”
It doesn’t sound like he’s merely flattering her. His tone is sincere and there’s genuine warmth in his cobalt eyes as he smiles at her. Ava blushes deeply.
“Boris, you remember my daughter, Olivia?”
He nods in acknowledgement and then turns his attention to me. “And this must be Alessandro’s new bride.”
“Yes, this is Emilia, a very welcome addition to our family.”
“It’s good to meet you, Emilia. My condolences on the loss of your grandfather.”
“You knew him?”
“I did. He was a smart man.” Reznov’s attention is drawn across the room and he waves to someone. “Apologies, ladies, I must go and speak to an associate. I will rejoin you when dinner is served.”
As he walks off, I turn to Ava. “He’s joining us for dinner?”
“Yes.”
I don’t miss the way her eyes light up. It’s clear she likes Reznov and I’m pretty sure he’s attracted to her too. I wonder what Alessandro would think of the idea of his mother dating a Russian mob boss. I can’t imagine he’d be thrilled.
“Do you want to go look at the silent auction items?” Livvy asks, tearing me from my thoughts.
“Silent auction?”
“Yes, there are several items open for bids. If you like one, you write what you’re willing to pay on a piece of paper. At the end of the night, the person with the highest bid gets to buy the item.”
“What sort of items?”
“Jewelry, vacations, art. Leo won a speedboat last year.”
It doesn’t seem like winning if he has to pay for it, but I’m sure that’s beside the point.
“Okay, sounds fun.”
As I get up and follow Livvy across the room. I collide with a server, a middle-aged blonde woman carrying a glass of red wine on a silver tray. The drink tips over before she can stop it and wine splashes down the front of my dress. Oblivious to what’s happened, Livvy carries on walking.
“Oh, my god, I am so sorry,” the woman cries. “I… uh…”
“It’s okay.” Sensing the server is close to tears, I put a hand on her arm to assure her I’m not upset. “Accidents happen, eh…”
“It’s Cheryl, miss. Come with me and I’ll get the stain out. We’ll make it good as new.”
“No, it’s fine. I can go to the bathroom and try to sort myself out. Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I have to fix this. Please, miss, I need this job.”
